I went on a job interview and the office was filthy by Alison Green on April 29, 2019 A reader writes: I went on a job interview today and the office was absolutely filthy and so gross. I met with the CEO in her office and while she seemed to be a nice lady, she looked very disorganized and kind of out of it. He hair was a mess and her fingernails were […] Read the full article →
potential employer sent me weirdly patronizing “interview tips” before the interview by Alison Green on April 23, 2019 A reader writes: I was asked to come in for a face-to-face interview with a potential employer. Along with the confirmation email, a two-page document was attached, titled “Preparing For Your Interview.” The top of the page read: “When preparing for your interview, it’s important to remember first impressions count. You want to arrive timely […] Read the full article →
what to look for when you’re interviewing students by Alison Green on March 21, 2019 A reader writes: While I’ve had plenty of practice interviewing experienced hires, I’m feeling stumped preparing to interview college students. We are coming up on campus recruiting season for interns and new hires, and I’m having trouble formulating my general interview script. Most of my go-to questions focus on past projects and experiences in different […] Read the full article →
I was invited to a 300-person cattle-call interview, and now the company wants to know why I’m not interested by Alison Green on March 18, 2019 A reader writes: I’m having an odd time with a company and was wondering what you thought of this process. I applied to a position on LinkedIn for a communications assistant on Friday. On Saturday at 6 am(!) I got an email asking me to schedule an interview for Monday. On Sunday I figured why […] Read the full article →
what should you do if you’re asked to work for free in a job interview? by Alison Green on March 18, 2019 If you’ve interviewed for a job lately, you might have been asked to do an assignment to demonstrate your skills and show how you’d approach the job — anything from writing a press release for a communications job to coding a webpage for a web development job. In theory, this is a good thing. Some […] Read the full article →
how do you hide your job hunt when you’re working full-time? by Alison Green on February 12, 2019 A reader writes: Can you tell me how to interview for new jobs while I’m still employed? I’ve been in my first professional job for three years since graduating from college and am beginning to think about looking for another job and moving on … except that I can’t figure out how to interview without […] Read the full article →
I got scolded for coming to an interview with a cold by Alison Green on February 11, 2019 A reader writes: I have a question about an interview experience that I was hoping you could share your thoughts on. I recently was given the chance to interview at an organization. The interview was scheduled about two weeks in advance. A few days beforehand, I started feeling a bit under the weather and ended […] Read the full article →
is this job interviewer stringing me along? by Alison Green on January 14, 2019 A reader writes: Almost two months ago, I applied and interviewed for a position with a company I have a real interest in working with. I did not get that job as they said they needed someone with more experience for that niche role, but they instead considered my application for another position that opened […] Read the full article →
10 questions you should ask your interviewer by Alison Green on November 6, 2018 The way some job candidates handle the portion of the interview where it’s their turn to ask questions has always surprised me. A lot of people don’t have many questions at all — which is ill-advised when you’re considering spending 40+ hours a week at the job and when it is likely to have a […] Read the full article →
what’s up with interviewers working on their laptops during interviews? by Alison Green on October 17, 2018 A reader writes: This has happened to me at two different job interviews (for two different companies). At both, there were two interviewers, both on their laptops. For the first one, I was recommended for the job by a friend who worked there, and the two interviewers took turns having one person ask me questions […] Read the full article →